Boerne Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Boerne Cemetery, up there in Kendall County. Now, there's a thing about cemeteries that most folks hurry past, and that's a shame, because sometimes the ground itself has a story to tell before anybody even thought to name the place. Boerne Cemetery is one of those.

When Adam Vogt deeded this land to the city in 1867, the deed was almost a formality, because some folks were already buried there. The earth had already started keeping its record. The earliest documented burial they can point to is that of Anton Peter Loth, and that dates all the way back to 1862, five years before the land was ever officially given over.

Think on that a moment. The cemetery existed before it was a cemetery. Walk the older sections today and you are walking among area pioneers and German immigrants who built this part of Texas from raw ground up.

Adam Vogt himself is buried there, the very man who signed the deed, born in 1822 and gone by 1882. And resting nearby is George Wilkins Kendall, born in 1809 and gone in 1867, the man for whom the county itself was named. There is also a row of paupers' graves, quiet and plain, a reminder that the ground keeps no favorites.

Over the years, land acquisitions expanded the graveyard, adding to what Vogt first gave. The marker calls Boerne Cemetery a reflection of the area's rich history, and I'd say that's about right. Every deed, every grave, every unmarked row tells you something about who was here and what it cost them to stay.

That's the whole story, right there under your boots.

What the marker says

When Adam Vogt (1822-1882) deeded land for this cemetery to the city in 1867, there were already some graves present. The earliest documented burial, that of Anton Peter Loth, dates to 1862. In the older sections of the cemetery are graves of area pioneers and German immigrants, including Vogt and George Wilkins Kendall (1809-1867), for whom the county was named. A row of paupers' graves may also be seen. Land acquisitions over the years have increased the size of the graveyard. Boerne Cemetery serves as a reflection of the area's rich history. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 Boerne Cemetery Established 1867 Historic Texas Cemetery - 2000